DCCC Launches New Grassroots Action Center: DontEndMedicare.com

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) launched the newest ‘Drive for 25’ project with an online action center at www.DontEndMedicare.com that enables grassroots Democrats to hold House Republicans accountable for voting to end Medicare, while protecting taxpayer giveaways for Big Oil companies making record profits. On Friday, House Republicans re-affirmed their commitment to ending Medicare, after Americans roundly rejected this controversial plan over two weeks of town hall meetings.

The action center gives grassroots Democrats information on upcoming town hall meetings with the tools they need to speak out about the plan. The center allows online phone banking, letters to Members of Congress, Facebook and Twitter updates and letter to the editor features for grassroots Democrats.

“It’s time to turn up the volume because House Republicans clearly aren’t listening to the American people who loudly and clearly rejected this plan to end Medicare at town hall meetings across the country,” said Jesse Ferguson of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “We are stepping up our efforts to hold House Republicans accountable for voting to end Medicare instead of ending taxpayer giveaways for Big Oil companies making record profits. This new action center gives working families and grassroots Democrats the chance to fight back against the shadowy special interest groups and their secret money that are trying to defend this devastating plan.”

Background

House Republicans voted to end Medicare. The Wall Street Journal wrote, “The plan would essentially end Medicare, which now pays most of the health-care bills for 48 million elderly and disabled Americans, as a program that directly pays those bills.” Last week the Washington Post reported that House Republicans restated their support for the plan. [H Con. Res. 34, Vote #277, 4/15/11; Wall Street Journal, 4/4/11; Washington Post, 5/6/11]

CBO: GOP Budget Raises Health Costs for Retirees. An analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) showed that “Most future retirees would pay more for health care under a new House Republican budget proposal, according to an analysis by nonpartisan experts for Congress.” In fact under this plan, “seniors would pay almost double – more than $12,510 a year.” [AP, 4/6/11; Los Angeles Times, 4/7/11]

Constituent backlash to House Republican budget. According to the New York Times, “After 10 days of trying to sell constituents on their plan to overhaul Medicare, House Republicans in multiple districts appear to be increasingly on the defensive, facing worried and angry questions from voters and a barrage of new attacks from Democrats and their allies.” [New York Times, 4/26/11; DCCC, 4/26/11]

House Republicans Stood with Big Oil. House Republicans opposed a measure that would allow the House of Representatives to approve the Big Oil Welfare Repeal Act of 2011 (H.R. 1689) which would repeal key taxpayer funded subsidies for oil and gas companies. As reported by The Hill newspaper, “House Democrats intend to force a vote on a measure that would eliminate a key oil industry tax break when Republicans bring a bill to expand domestic oil and-gas drilling to the floor Thursday.” [H Res 245, Vote #293, 5/5/11; The Hill, 5/4/11; see also CBS News, 5/4/11]